Franceschini says Pompeii 'essential service'

Move made to ban strikes at national archaeological site

(ANSA) - Rome, June 23 - Culture Minister Dario Franceschini on Monday said he would add Italian museums and archaeological sites to the list of public places declared essential, making it harder for their workers to strike.

"It seems to me indisputable that archeological museums and sites are essential public services and are of great value and importance," said Franceschini. He spoke after workers mounted a demonstration that blocked the entrance to the world-famous archaeological site of Pompeii for a few hours earlier in the day. It was re-opened to visitors after unions representing striking staff agreed to meet with State officials on Friday.

Franceschini said that step was "certainly positive" but warned that strikes do too much damage to the image of archaeological site which, in turn, "threatens to undermine the hard work" on Pompeii at all levels.

He said that the new standard would mean strikers could be ordered back to work in "exceptional cases". Massimo Osanna, superintendent of Pompeii, said management wants to work "to return to normalcy" regarding agreements with local unions. 

Shorts surprise at Pitti Uomo

Designers redefine formal wear for young urban target

(ANSA) - Florence, June 23 - As the 86th Pitti Uomo trade fair closed Saturday after five days of shows and parties to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Florentine center for Italian fashion, the recognized birthplace of all things made in Italy, a new mood and a new look emerged: a preponderance of shorts worn with extremely fitted blazers, all in assertive colors, signaling that a certain optimism and flair have made a comeback. Postwar periods of yesteryear saw women's skirts shortening to save on fabric. But this time, in terms of menwear, the story is different.

Although economic times continue rough the world over, this particular shift could be a harbinger, not of a lack of raw material, but rather of a shift in taste and customs demanding that men put their bodies on display, and perhaps also of the tropicalization of weather through planetary climate change. The new client identified by the companies showing at Pitti Uomo is young, trendy, particular about details, and fussy about the care of his body: the fair's main pavilion even dedicated an area to a barbershop installed by the century-old barber supply company Proraso.

Shorts dominated the runway of Au Jour Le Jour Garcon, a collection designed by the new enfants terribles of fashion, Mirko Fontana and Diego Marquez. Hosted by Pitti Italics, they seated their public in a former customs warehouse, at genuine school desks lent by a Florence high school. Au Jour Le Jour's imaginary of a "schoolboy" was both playful and refined, choosing shorts below jackets printed with toy cars, the letters of the alphabet, lions, jellyfish, and rhinoceroses. Theirs is a fellow both retro and tongue-in-cheek, whose wardrobe favors tailored suits in fabrics stolen from women's couture, in a palette of brilliant reds, greens, and yellows, with a dash of sequins jazzing it all up in a mischievous masculine-feminine mix. Likewise, the guest designer at this edition of Pitti Uomo, the Trivero Group's Z ZEGNA, turned out a collection by designing duo Murray Scallon and Paul Surridge targeting the active urban dweller: both formal and experimental, elegant and high-tech, tailored and sporty, it features slim-fitting trousers and Bermuda shorts paired with tailored jackets as well as parkas - all in lightweight fabrics, including high-performance wools, technical cottons and advanced sportswear. The palette was cement and carbon with a dash of jade green, citrus yellow, and royal blue, and of course, black and white.

Italian manufacturing company Lardini placed itself in the hands of Kansas-born designer and Instagram sartorial style icon Nickelson Wooster, also known in the blogosphere as the WoostGod. A former fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, Wooster is slated to become the brand's ambassador to the United States. Based on the concept of "imperfection," his collection of jackets and trousers, some shorts and a variety of accessories featured crisp shirts in mixed fabrics under narrow, single-button jackets in bold stripes and polka dots, paired with everything from below-the-knee Bermudas in excessive volumes to dropped-crotch Ghurkas. 

Pope excommunicates mafiosi as police arrest 95

Francis visits Calabria region hit hard by organized crime

(ANSA) - Rome, June 23 - Police arrested 95 suspected Mafia figures in Palermo Monday on suspicion of involvement in extortion and other crimes, soon after Pope Francis announced the excommunication of all mafiosi. Investigators said they had identified leaders of a widespread gang involved in construction, real estate, and moving companies that allegedly drove out competition and suffocated the local economy.

The police sweep, dubbed Apocalypse, came on the heels of a visit to the nearby region of Calabria by the pope, who issued one of the strongest condemnations of organized crime heard from a pontiff in years. Francis accused criminal groups of the "adoration of evil" during a Mass on the plains of the small town of Sibari in Calabria, a region that has been racked by violence, corruption and mafia activity. Police have said that the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta mafia has become the most powerful of Italy's mafias for its virtual stranglehold on the European cocaine trade.

Italians were particularly horrified this spring by the murder of a three-year-old boy in an indiscriminate revenge hit by a mafia clan. The charred remains of tiny toddler Nicola Campolongo, nicknamed Coco, were discovered in a burned-out car in the Calabrian town of Cassano allo Ionio. Organizers of the papal Mass in Sibari suggested as many as 200,000 people gathered under a hot sun to hear the pope condemn the violence around them. "Your land, which so beautiful, knows the signs of the consequences of this sin," said Francis during his Saturday visit to the region. "This evil must be fought, must be expelled".

He called on the local church to drive itself even more "so that good can prevail". "Our children ask this of us," he added. Francis has previously warned the mafia that their power and money are "dirty" and that hell awaits if they continue on their criminal path. "The power, the money that you have now from...mafia crimes is blood money and you cannot take it to the next life," Francis said in March during a memorial day for victims of crime. 

Italy wants room for growth, Merkel seems to bend

Hopes rising that Germany willing to relax on stimulus spending

(ANSA) - Rome, June 23 - Hope was growing Monday in Italy that some room for stimulus spending may be created within European Union budget rules when leaders meet later this week, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled an opening.

Leaders from across the EU will meet on Thursday and Friday, first in the Belgian city of Ypres and later in Brussels where they will not only nominate a new president for the European Commission but also consider the future of eurozone fiscal rules. The summit may mark a "turning point" from a sustained emphasis on austerity to policies more oriented towards encouraging growth, Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini said Monday.

She spoke after German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled an opening towards growth-stoking spending, an idea Mogherini said had been promoted by Italian Premier Matteo Renzi and Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan. A spokesman for Merkel said that she is "open" to greater flexibility within the EU's stability pact, so long as the basic rules are obeyed. Merkel also believes that the rules permit consideration for "negative economic cycles" as well as investments for structural reforms, added spokesman Steffan Seibert.

This would allow more flexibility into the pact, which basically requires member States to maintain their budget deficits within 3% of their total gross domestic product (GDP). "But it must be observed, credibility of the pact comes from compliance with the rules," said Seibert. Merkel had previously said that the pact should not be changed, but Renzi and other countries, including France, have argued that flexibility could be found inside the rules for such measures as increased investment spending to stimulate economic growth. Earlier in the day, Italy called on the European Union to "encourage structural reforms on the national level...because they are the principal engine of growth". In a letter to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy seen by ANSA, the Italian government said such reforms were especially effective when "contemporaneous with other countries".

Italy has been working closely with Van Rompuy preparing for this summit, as it will hold the six-month rotating presidency of the EU beginning next month. The issues of jobs and growth "should be put at the top of the agenda" for the EU leaders summit, according to Padoan and Henk Kamp, minister for economic affairs for the Netherlands after the pair met Monday in Rome.

Italy in particular has been struggling hard to pull itself out of its worst recession since the Second World War. Renzi's government has come up with a range of measures and reforms to try to help households and businesses to get back on their feet and to kick-start the economy. 

Mogherini candidature as EU foreign minister 'a hypothesis'

Netherlands supports Mogherini to succeed Baroness Ashton

(ANSA) Luxembourg, June 23 - Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini acknowledged Monday her possible candidature to become High Representative for European Foreign Policy "is a hypothesis" under consideration by Premier Matteo Renzi's government.

"As far as the hypothesis about me is concerned, it is a hypothesis," she told reporters. However she added that "I am focussed on doing what is my job at the moment, which is very beautiful and very demanding and makes me proud: being foreign minister of the Italian republic, I am concentrating on that". Earlier her Dutch counterpart, Frans Timmermans, told reporters that "without doubt" Mogherini "is a good candidate" to replace Britain's Baroness Catherine Ashton. 

Google Art wants to showcase Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel is Google creator's 'secret fantasy'

(ANSA) - Florence, June 23 - Google creative head Amit Sood dreams of bringing Rome's Sistine Chapel into the virtual walls of the innovative Google Art Project. "My secret fantasy? To bring the Sistine chapel to Google Art," Sood, founder of Google Art Project and Director at Google Cultural Institute, said when asked about the project's plans for the future which has already seen the inclusion of 345 cultural heritage partners including Florence's Uffizi Museum, Rome's Capitoline Museums and Venice's Doge's Palace, as well as Tate London, Versaille Palace and the White House.

Sood would like to add Michelangelo's photography-restricted masterpiece to the 110 museums that users can "walk through", via an indoor version of Google's Street View, a technology that provides panoramic views from positions along streets and inside museums, as well as add it to personalized Google art collection. "Our visitors are passionate about art, but also curious. They can add text, video and anyone can create their own collection by artist, era, taste. We already have 460,000 user galleries", Sood said.

Launched in 2011 as a virtual and user-interact museum to catalogue artifacts and landmarks, with Florence's Uffizi Gallery as one of its very first partners, Google Art Project is now an enhanced and interactive virtual museum of 63 million pieces and a traffic volume of 19 million users who can go on gallery and site tours, view artwork at microscopic levels and listen and watch educational content. "When the project launched, many feared that the public would stop physically going to museums. Instead, there has never been such a high attendance as today. And the trend is still growing, because when you admire something online, then you want to live the emotional experience in person, with your own eyes," Sood said.

With contributor experience playing a key part in the project, Sood encourages user interaction with monuments, museums, and cultural projects. Earlier this month, Google unveiled its Street Art project at Rome's Ara Pacis museum where users can walk up to and around different pieces. Street Art is a collaborative project with 30 partners, showcasing murals in 15 countries by international artists including Italian artists Agostino Iacurci and duo StenLex.

The next phase of the Google Art Project line-up may just be Rome's archaeological sites, according to Sood. "The next goal will be 3D, to be used in all the museums, even in the archaeological sites of Rome. I think the museum of the future will be closely tied to physical and digital exhibitions", Sood said. 

Rome mayor denies Rolling Stones undercharged for concert

Northern League says low fee 'slap in the face' by Rome

(ANSA) Rome, June 23 - Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino came under fire Monday for renting the Circus Maximus to the Rolling Stones for just 8000 euros a short time after asking the central government to bail out the Eternal City administration.

Northern League MP Marco Rondini said his opposition party will table a parliamentary question on whether the symbolic price charged for using the ancient Roman charioteers' racecourse for the British group's concert on Sunday constitutes damages to the Italian treasury. "This free gift by the mayor of Rome is a slap in the face for citizens of other cities obliged to pay for the deep hole in Rome's finances caused by incomprehensible choices like this," Rondini claimed.

Marino defended the price saying that the costs of the concert were paid for entirely by the Rolling Stones and that the concert brought 50,000 people to Rome from outside the city who spent money in restaurants, hotels and museums. The Rolling Stones left Rome's Ciampino Airport Monday for Oslo aboard a Boeing 737.